Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club

Visual aids help divert attention away from the speaker.  In a long presentation this is a good thing for both speaker and the audience.  This is because the audience will tire of the speaker no matter how good a speaker is.  One of the principal aims of this course is for the participants to be “under the spotlight” for their entire speaking time ie to build up confidence.  Therefore diversionary tactics such as visual aids are not encouraged, in this course, other than using an object to describe so as to use Body Language.

Benefits

• They Increase Understanding.  Learning occurs more through watching than listening.

• Saves Time.  One picture is worth 1,000 words.  People process quicker information provided visually rather than verbally.

• Information is Retained.  Surveys show that people can digest and retain information from what we read, hear and see in the following proportions:

  •  What we read             10%

  •  What we hear             20%

  •  What we see               30%

  •  What we hear and see 50%

       - People only remember 10% of verbal messages a week after a presentation. 

• Promotes Attentiveness.  People think faster than you speak, so minds can wander when you are speaking.  Visuals help the audience maintain focus on your message. 

• Interesting / Memorable.  Visuals add variety to a presentation and this makes it more interesting and more memorable. 

• Helps the presenter control nerves.  Nervous energy is spent without distracting the audience with fidgety actions such as pacing, rocking, swaying and playing with notes. 

Types of Visual Aids  /  Tips

Whiteboard

• Write in dark colours ie blue, black.

• Make sure writing is readable.

Flipchart

• Useful to use as you can’t see the part of the presentation that follows.

• Make sure the writing is legible.

• Stop talking to audience when you turn your back to flip over.

Overhead Projector

• Make sure unit is working, focused and set up correctly before starting.

• Always have a spare bulb handy.

• Turn off when not in use.

• Speak to the audience and not to the screen.

• Make sure overheads are laid out in correct order before use.

Slide Projector

• Same as overhead projector.

• Make sure slides are numbered in order of viewing.

Video Cassette / Television

• Test video is working prior to presentation.

• Make sure tape is in correct position to start.

• Ensure audio capacity is satisfactory.

Visual

• This can be a large picture, diagram, graph etc.

• Make sure it is positioned so entire audience can see it.

• Do not stand in front of visual.

• Make sure it is clearly visible from the furthermost point in the room.

An Object 

• ie  the object you are speaking about.

• Make sure it is positioned so entire audience can see it.

Handouts 

• It is preferable to hand out at the end of presentation.

• Announce if there are handouts at the start of the presentation.

General Tips 

• Always make sure you are not obstructing the view of your audience by standing -in front of any visual aids.

• Always talk to the audience – not the aid.

• Make sure any text is clearly visible from the back of the room.

• Make sure the aid is relevant to the presentation.

• When using a visual aid with text follow the 7/7 rule:

  • 7 Words per line maximum

  • 7 Words per visual maximum

  • The less words the better

• Use colour to highlight points, but avoid too many colours.

• Ensure that any equipment you are going to use is operating OK, practice it several times and preferably well before the start of then presentation.

Source: www.youthsspeak.com.au